LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



©lap.- --:^ iap?rig|t f 0.- 
Slielf ..B.E.)-4? ) 



^X 



UNITED STATES OF A^EEICA, 



SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION 



HOW THE INTELLECTUAL, MORAL 
AND SPIRITUAL QUALITIES- 
ARE DEVELOPED 

IN MAN. 



f 



"ifl^ 



BY S. W, FRANCE. 

11 




HUDSON, N. Y.: 
F. H. WEBB, PUBLISHER, 

1891. 






COPYRIGHT, 1891, 

BY S. W. FRANCE. 






o 



GROWTH AND PROGRESS. 



Man's body is but a loom 

For weaving the webs of time — 

One, two or three, 

As the case may be. 
God's spirit and love are warp and woof, 
That make the web at his behoof. 



SF^IRITUAL EVOLUTION 



INTRODUCTION. 



Having lived to the age of maturity, and 
been compelled to look upon the problems of 
life with my own eyes, as it were, directly, 
and not through the eyes of others, I have 
arrived at certain conclusions concerning the 
nature of man, his destiny and his duty, which 
appear to me both true and important. Being 
a member of no Church or religious body, 
though deeply interested in religion, and con- 
vinced of the supreme importance of living a 
true and virtuous life, I am often questioned 
by mv friends about my belief. Hence, I have 
been led to write out the conclusions which 
have been forced upon me by thought and ex- 
peiience, hoping thereby at least to make my 
own position clear, and desiring also, if possi- 
ble, to make the results of my thought help- 
ful to others. 



As I have thought these matters out for 
myself, with little aid from the speculations 
of others, amid the labors and trials of a busv 
life, I have been compelled to present my 
ideas in my own language, which I have tried 
to make so simple and plain that all can un- 
derstand, instead of attempting" to use the 
technical terms of science and philosophy, with 
which I am not familiar. I make -no claim to 
be a philosopher. The subjects herein discuss- 
ed have all come before my mind in a practi- 
cal way, and I have looked upon them as I 
have been compelled to, with only a sincere 
desire to find for each problem a practical and 
rational solution. So I present the matter as 
I see it. The conclusions to which I have 
come appear consistent with all my experience ; 
therefore I regard them as true and valid. I 
do not claim, however, that these conclusions 
are infallible or perfect in all respects, but 



7 

hold myself in readiness to change any of 
them upon evidence that they are erroneous. 

THE TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL BODIES. 

Man as we see and know him is made up 
of a body, or physical organism, and a spirit- 
ual organism, which is the seat of his intel- 
lectual life. The first is subject to the law of 
waste, repair and decay. It has its beginning 
and end in time, and therefore I call it the 
Temporal Man. The second contains powders 
and capacities which are not limited by tem- 
poral or physical conditions, and I therefore 
term it the inner or spiritual man. 

The temporal man when in health is a very 
perfect physical machine — an organization of 
parts working together harmoniously like the 
wheels of a watch. Each part has a bearing on 
the other parts to which it is related. His var:*- 
ous powers are all designed to produce certain 



8 

definite results. We find the condition of the 
temporal man most perfectly illustrated in the 
young- child. Such a child is, I might sav, 
only an animal, and is more helpless, even, 
than a young animal. Yet he has within him 
the germ or seed of a spiritual organism. 
When that begins to develop, it absorbs life 
from the infinite spirit, which is God's spirit, 
as the physical organism absorbs life from 
the material world. Thus the spiritual body 
is developed, inheriting the qualities of an 
immortal being, as the temporal man inherits 
those of mortality. 

THE ORDER OF DEVEEOPMENT. 

The Mind, and Intellectual Qualities are first 
developed in and grow with the spiritual body. 
Little by little, the personality of the child — 
the inner man — develops. It learns to know 
its parents, its brothers and sisters, the familiar 



9 

objects by which it is surrounded. When suf- 
ficiently mature it is taught the alphabet, and 
learns to read, to spell, and acquire a knoAvl- 
edge of the ordinary and special industries. 

The moral qualities of the child are next 
developed. The child cannot build them up 
until he has some instruction, and learns to 
understand something about right and wrong. 
The moral qualities develop later than but in 
harmony with the intellectual qualities : the 
two then grow along together, side by side. 
By the aid of both — the moral qualities and 
the mind or intellect,- — the child or older per- 
son is enabled to decide what he considers 
right, and what wrong. In the beginning the 
judgment of the parents takes the place of the 
moral sense in the child's mind. The moral 
qualities are not born in the child, though the 
germ of his moral sense exists at birth in his 
spiritual organism : they are first implanted by 



10 

the parents, and grow until the child can form 
its own ideas of right and wrong, and act in- 
dependently of the instructions of others. If 
the child was not first instructed by the par- 
ents, it would know nothing about the moral 
qualities. After the inner man learns to per- 
ceive the difference between right and wrong, 
and to do the right, the moral power, as a 
result of this practice, will gradually grow 
stronger. This power will influence the mind, 
and through it guide the actions of the tem- 
poral man, and restrain the animal impulses. 

Next to the moral, come the spiritual qual- 
ities. After the growth of the moral power 
has developed the disposition to do right, or 
to restrain one's self from the tendency to 
actions that are positively evil, the further 
development of the same power apparently 
creates the disposition to do good — to actively 
help the world and our fellow men. This is 



1 1 

what I mean by the spiritual qualities : that 
disposition that will not permit the person to 
rest in a condition of mere negative goodness, 
but which impels him to love the good and 
seek to positively benefit and bless his fellow^ 
men. This is the disposition which Christ 
manifested, and so beautifully illustrated in 
his personal acts while here on earth. 

THE MIND. 

It will be observed that I not only make a 
distinction between the temporal man and the 
inner or spiritual man, but I also distinguish 
between the spiritual man and the mind, and 
between the mind itself, or the consciousness, 
and the moral, intellectual and spiritual qual- 
ities. Our knowledge belongs to the inner or 
spiritual man, and I am persuaded that it is 
not generated out of anything temporal, but 
is constituted out of spiritual things — out of 



12 

something more than the body and its rela- 
tions to the material world. If the intellect 
and mind of man were temporal, the intellec- 
tual qualities, and the knowledge gained dur- 
ing life, would leave no permanent result. 
All our mental acquisitions would be a blank 
after the death of the physical bod3\ The 
temporal man does not produce or generate 
anything that is new. Each organ or part of 
the temporal man has a certain function to 
perform, and that is all. It operates as a ma- 
chine, and obeys the guidance of the inner 
man. The mind is developed by the contact 
of the inner man with the smrrouoding uni- 
verse, and it is so constituted that by the aid 
and action of the brain and bodily organs, 
the inner man, or child, receives the power 
and develops the functions necessary to thought 
and action. 



13 



THE INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES. 

As soon as the mind or inner man, and the 
temporal man, have together gained strength 
and developed their several functions, they are 
then prepared to manifest the various intellect- 
ual qualities. B}^ intellectual qualities, I mean 
that part or function of the inner or spiritual 
man which lies next to and corresponds with 
the brain in the bodily organism. They are a 
part, as it were, of the spiritual organism, and 
constitute the material which the mind uses in 
the processes of thought. They receive and 
register the impressions made upon the inner 
man through the action of the five senses, and 
store up these impressions for the use of the 
mind in thinking. 

There are three principal grades of the in- 
tellectual qualities. The first grade is unfolded 
through the sense of sight. When a young 



child first sees an object, the image of the 
object is conveyed to the corresponding intel- 
lectual quality by the organ of vision. Im- 
pressions are thus made and stored up in the 
quality. After such impressions are made, 
however, the child does not know what the 
image is, or what it represents, until it is 
taught. The parents must teach the child by 
the use of the voice what the objects are 
which they see. This additional knowledge is 
conveyed to the intellectual Qualities through 
the organ of hearing. This will explain the 
impressions made through the organs of vis- 
ion. The child will then know what the image 
is which it sees. When the child is able to 
read, and to understand what it reads, the 
same result is attained by and through the 
organs of vision. For example : when the child 
sees some new object, something which it has 
never seen before and knows nothing about^ 



15 

the image will be conveyed to the intellectual 
qualities, and an impression made thereon. 
The child will not know what the object is, 
but if the parents will write the required ex- 
planation on paper and give it to the child to 
read, the knowledge will then be conveyed to 
the intellect by the organ of vision, as it was 
in our first example by the organ of hearing. 

The second grade of the intellectual qualities 
is unfolded as follows : when the child hears 
a voice or other sound the impression is direct- 
ly conveyed to the mind through the organ of 
hearing. This^sound, of itself, does not make 
any impression on the intellectual qualities. 
But when the voice or sound conveys know- 
ledge, then the intellectual qualities receive 
the knowledge thus conveyed, and the mind, 
by* fixing its attention upon them, becomes 
conscious of the information thus given. This 
faculty of attention, whereby the mind is en- 



i6 

abled to recall past impressions made through 
the senses on the intellectual qualities, I call 
the Mind's Eye, since it performs for the mind 
or consciousness a similar function to that 
which is performed for the temporal man by 
the organ of vision. There is this difference, 
however, in the action of the physical and 
mental faculties of vision : the natural eye 
ranges over a wide field of vision, and receives 
a great many impressions, or impressions from 
a great many objects at once ; while the Mind's 
Eye, in order to bring to view a past impres- 
sion made upon the intellectual qualities, must 
concentrate itself upon that single impression 
alone, excluding, so far as possible, all others. 
To the degree in which this concentration is 
completely effected, the object is perfectly re- 
called. 

Thus, in developing the second grade of 
the intellectual qualities, if the voice or sound 



17 
received is new to the child it will have to 
be taught what it is. When taught by the 
voice, the knowledge will be conveyed by the 
organ of hearing to the intellectual quality, 
where it will be duly established. When the 
child can read, the knowledge can be convey- 
ed by the organ of vision. The organ of hear- 
ing, unlike that of vision, thus conveys know- 
ledge directly to the intellect, and does not 
require the aid of any other organ to produce 
the required impression. 

The third grade of the intellectual qualities 
is developed by the direct action of the mind, 
through a process of continuous or concentrat- 
ed thought. In other words, the Mind's Eye 
is consciously seeking what it washes to develop. 
This involves the activity of those mental fac- 
ulties commonly known as attention, concen- 
tration and memory. When the quality sought 
by the Mind's Eye is discovered and clearly 



i8 

brought before the mental vision, it will be 
duly unfolded and established so that it can 
at an)^ time be brought before the mind. 

The faculties of taste, smell and touch diJffer 
materially from those of vision and hearing 
in the manner in which they convey know- 
ledge to the mind. They construct no image, 
voice or sound, by means of which they pro- 
duce impressions on the intellectual qualities. 
They cannot, therefore, convey knowledge to 
these qualities until they have first been un- 
folded by the action of the other senses. After 
they are thus unfolded or developed, the organs 
of taste, smell and touch can convey the 
knowledge which they derive from the outer 
world to the intellect. For example : when a 
child tastes something which it has never 
tasted before, it does not recognize what it is. 
The parent will have to teach the child with 
what particular object the peculiar taste is 



19 

connected. This he does by telling the child ; 
and thus through the organ of hearing the 
knowledge is conveyed to the intellectual qual- 
ities. Later on, the same result is effected 
through the organ of vision, as before de- 
scribed. 

As soon as the child is sufficientlv mature 
to unfold the intellectual qualities, the process 
of development commences. Impressions will 
be made slowly at finst, but later on with 
greater frequency. Many impressions will be 
made of which the child will at first have no 
true knowledge. As soon as one definite im- 
pression is made, the Mind's E3'e can seek it 
out and rest upon it, bringing it thus directly 
before the mind for examination. Two impres- 
sions increase the field of mental vision, and 
so on. As the child develops with maturer 
years the impressions are more numerous and 
more quickly made. The impressions upon the 



20 

young child, though more slowly made, are 
apparently more deeply implanted. In later 
years, when the child is further advanced and 
better prepared to unfold a higher grade of 
intellectual qualities, the mind will be called 
upon for severer labor. It will have to unfold 
the higher qualities of the intellect, not by 
the direct action of voice, sound or image 
but by submitting the materials thus acquired 
by past experience, to the Mind's E3^e, and 
the higher processes of thought. 

The child first learns the alphabet, observ- 
ing each particular letter as it observes other 
objects, and obtaining a knowledge of it as I 
have before described. When it begins to com- 
bine these letters into syllables it will be oblig- 
ed to develop and use other and higher quali- 
ties. This will require thought and reflection. 
For example, place before the child the letters 
a and b in the ''form of a syllable, ab. It will 



21 

recog-nize the letters, but it will not know 
that thev form a syllable or combined sound 
until it is so taught. Then, knowing what a 
syllable is, it will look carefully at the letters 
as they are combined, and reflect upon them 
until the new impression is made and the 
knowledge of the combination is established 
in the intellectual qualities. As the child grows 
and advances, the combinations become, more 
complex and difficult. After he has unfolded 
some of the higher qualities of the intellect, 
and advanced to a point where he is capable 
of employing^ himself in some industry, or 
following some special branch of education ; 
after he has made a success in his chosen 
pursuit, he will have learned that the process 
of development is an endless one, and he will 
obtain some idea of the number of the intel- 
lectual qualities w^hich God has given him to 
unfold. 



22 



FURTHER POINTS CONCERNING THE MIND. 

I am convinced that the mind has an ex- 
istence separate from that of the physical or- 
ganism. In some respects it is independent 
of the brain ; yet, in our earthly life it re- 
ceives communications from the brain, and 
acts jointly with it, and also with the intel- 
lectual qualities. The mind possesses life ; it 
receives and transmits impressions and is ever 
active. By reason of its joint activity with 
the brain, which is a part of the physical 
organism, it makes use of force in its opera- 
tions, and requires sustenance and nutrition. 
It is not sustained, however, by the same means 
which nourish the physical body, but by other 
means, required by its higher nature. If the 
mind were temporal in its nature, it would 
constitute a part of the physical organism, 
and be sustained by the same means, and by 



23 

those only, which sustain the temporal man. 
If it were temporal, it would be subject to 
our examination, like the parts of the physi- 
cal body, and we should know as much about 
the mind as we do about the brain. I con- 
tend, however, that the Mind is not tempo- 
ral, but spiritual. Now, if the mind is spir- 
itual, it must have been developed out of 
something which is spiritual or lasting. My 
experience teaches me that the mind, though 
not itself material, is in close communication 
with its material organ — the brain. The in- 
tellectual qualities are also closely related to 
the various organs of the brain, and to the 
mind. What is the structure and appearance, 
the form and shape of the intellectual quali- 
ties, I do not know ; but my experience proves 
to me that there must be something connected 
with mind which enables me to remember and 
recall the objects of my previous observation, 



24 

or the impressions which they have made, 
and to picture them before my mental vision. 

HOW THE MIND REMEMBERS PAST EVENTS. 

I know there is something which receives 
the impressions and retains the knowledge 
gained. This knowledge must be located in 
or on something real and substantial. It can- 
not be on the physical brain, for all that we 
could see there, even with the strongest mi- 
croscope, would be the movements of particles 
of matter. It cannot be hanging or floating 
about in the air, without any substantial found- 
ation. Take, for example, a person who has 
reached a ripe old age : he can recall and see 
with his Mind's Eye impressions that were 
made in his early youth. If his mind be 
clear and his faculties unimpaired, he can see 
them as perfectly as w^hen the impressions 
were first made. 



25 



The theory that the brain receives the im- 
pressions and retains them is no more prac- 
tical than my own theory, and does not ac- 
count for all the facts. It \V()uld practically 
leave the spiritual body headless, with no per- 
manent store of wisdom and information, 
whereas I believe it to be the storehouse of 
all our knowledge. God teaches us through 
the observation of creatures living upon the 
earth that are developed, or transformed, out 
of lower organizations, as the moth or butter- 
fly from the silk-worm, that each has its pro- 
per knowledge developed with it. It is not a 
special creation, introduced from without when 
the transformation takes place, but the know- 
ledge develops as the form develops, naturally. 
A similar development of man's spiritual na- 
ture takes place during his life upon the 
earth, and is not, as some suppose, bestowed 



26 

instantaneously upon him, as a new creation, 
after the death of the temporal body. 

The principles which I have laid down find 
an illustration in every school-room. Let a 
teacher have brought before him a class of 
new pupils, about whom he knows nothing. 
He will be obliged to study their characters, 
their modes of action and their dispositions. 
After they have been under his instruction 
for some time, and are ready to pass on to 
a higher grade, he will have the impressions 
which they have made upon his intellectual 
faculties deeply implanted, so that when he 
concentrates his Mind's Eye on one of those 
pupils, and desires to remember him, he can 
bring him before his mental or spiritual vis- 
ion almost as perfectly as if he were present 
in the body. When he is thus recalling one 
of his former pupils, he can see no other at 
the same time. If the impressions were all 



27 

made directly on the mind itself, he would 
be able to recall all the pupils at one time, 
since the impressions were made simultane- 
ously, and are of equal force. If the mind 
were capable of receiving impressions from all 
the pupils directl3% without the aid of the 
intellectual qualities, and at the same time, 
then it would be capable of recalling them 
at the same time before the mental vision. 
Experience proves, however, that the Mind's 
Eye can dwell upon and distinguish only one 
object at a time. This demonstrates to me 
that the impressions are not made directly on 
the mind, and that we must distinguish the 
intellectual qualities on which they are made 
both from the mind or consciousness and from 
the material brain. 

Again, when a person takes a journey 
through a country which he has never visit- 
ed before, his eyes will see many new things, 



28 

and his ears will hear new sounds and new 
voices. Impressions will thus be taken, and 
the knowledge so gained will be implanted 
in the intellectual qualities. After he returns 
home, at his leisure he will recall the inci- 
dents of his journey. The popular belief 
seems to be that when he does so, the Mind's 
Eye actually revisits the scenes which it per- 
ceives, wandering from place to place and 
from object to object. This, however, is not 
the case. The mind does not leave the place 
where the person now is. The Mind's Eye 
simply seeks out those impressions which were 
made during the journey, upon that part of 

the inner or spiritual man which I distinguish 
as the intellectual qualities. 

HOW TO STUDY THE MIND'S ACTION. 

We can study this action of the mind most 
perfectly when all disturbing influences are, 



29 

so far as possible, shut out. When I go into 
a room where everything is dark and quiet, 
and concentrate my Mind's Eye on a village 
or houses some miles away, with which I am 
familiar, the mind apparently goes directly to 
the place, but the Mind's Eye does not at once 
distinguish any particular object. All that I 
am aware of is a vague recollection. If I con- 
centrate my thought on the particular house 
in which I have dwelt, a change gradually 
occurs, and the Mind's Eye begins to receive 
definite impressions of the place. It can see 
the streets and houses, and can search from 
house to house until it discovers the particular 
dwelling with which I am most familiar. If 
my mind actually went out to those places as 
I was educated to think was the case, then I 
could see other houses and localities as well as 
the ones with which I am acquainted. Exper- 
ience teaches me, however, that I cannot see 



30 

any object with the Mind's Eye unless I first 
see it with my temporal eyes. This demon- 
wStrates to me that the Mind's Eye regards only 
the im.pressions previously made on the intel- 
lectual qualities. Impressions received through 
either the organs of vision or of hearing will 
be located in the direction of the place or 
places where the objects were when they were 
originally seen or heard. This still further 
convinces me that the Mind, the Mind's Eye, 
and the Intellectual Qualities are not one 
and the same thing. They are separate. At 
least, the Mind and the Mind's Eye are separ- 
ate from the Intellectual Qualities, yet they are 
definitely related to each other, and have com- 
munication, one with the other. The impres- 
sions made on the intellect through the organs 
of sense are so located that the Mind's Eye 
can observe them all in turn, and convey the 
knowledge thus gained to the mind. 



31 



HOW THE MEMORY REWARDS AND PUNISHES. 

If any person will try the experiment be- 
fore suggested, of going into a dark room, 
where all is quiet, and there is nothing to 
disturb or distract the attention, and if he 
will direct his Mind's Eye to the good im- 
pressions which have been made from time 
to time b}^ his previous actions, he will find 
enjoyment in the contemplation. The good 
deeds which he has inscribed on his book of 
remembrance will be recalled and be pleasant 
to look at. On the other hand, if he turns 
his attention to the evil acts of his past 
life, he wall find them painful to look at. 
Impressions made years ago will appear as 
vivid as if made yesterday. In this way, by 
the action of the Mind and its faculties we 
are continually judged, and rewarded or pun- 
ished by the experience of pleasure or inflic- 



32 

tion of pain, according to the nature of our 
past actions. Every day or hour of quiet con- 
templation thus becomes a judgment day. 

To sum up, therefore : the function of the 
Mind, as I understand it, is to receive and 
transmit impressions, to organize them into 
knowledge, to meditate, to consider, to decide, 
to dictate, to direct. 

The function of the Mind's Eye is to search 
through the intellectual qualities, to contem- 
plate the knowledge and images which have 
been impressed thereon by past experience, 
and to convey this knowledge to the Mind. 

The function of the Intellectual Qualities is 
to receive impressions made by and through 
the organs of the senses from the outer world, 
and to store them up for future contemplation. 



33 



THE INTELLECTUAL QUALFITES. 

As I have before explained, the Intellect- 
ual Qualities are of three grades. The first 
grade is unfolded by receiving impressions 
from objects of the outer world by or through 
the organs of vision. The second grade is 
developed by receiving knowledge of the va- 
rious sounds and voices of the outer world b\' 
or through the organs of hearing. The third 
grade is developed by the action of the mind 
in continuous thinking. We direct the Mind's 
Eye to the matter which we wish to establish 
or develop in the intellectual qualities, and 
concentrate our thought thereon. As soon as 
the Mind's Eye comes in contact with the 
special matter which we desire to develop and 
preserve in the memory, it is at once prepared 
for the developing process. The knowledge 
immediately arises in the mind, and the Mind 



34 

can direct the temporal man how to use and 
appropriate it. The material which the Mind's 
Eye seeks for in developing the third grade 
of the intellectual qualities does not come 
from the outer world, nor is it the temporal 
man which receives it and is educated by it. 
It is the inner or spiritual man that is thus 
educated. 

THE TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL BODIES. 

I am persuaded that the inner or spiritual 

man is developed from a seed or germ which 
is present at birth in the organism of every 

young child. This germ expands and begins 
to form the spiritual body as soon as the 
child begins to grow. The Mind, as well as 
the Intellectual, Moral and Spiritual Qualities, 
are attributes of the Spiritual Body, and are 
developed with it. During life, the spiritual 
man is intimately connected with the tempo- 



35 

ral man, and guides, preserves and benefits 
him as the intellectual qualities are developed. 

The outer or temporal body is a perfect or- 
ganism, composed of different related parts, 
which in their combination may be compared 
to a loom or machine for weaving the web of 
life — or, in other words, for building up the 
spiritual qualities. All right dispositions, the 
dispOvSition to act rightly, to do good and to 
develop knowledge, come from the ' inner or 
spiritual man. The temporal man also has 
certain dispositions, emotions and tendencies 
which belong to its own nature. These dispo- 
sitions when undulv ofratified become the en- 
emy of man's higher nature. Such are the 
angry passions and animal appetites. 

The spiritual and temporal bodies are so 
constructed that they work harmoniously to- 
gether, acting upon one another through the 
organs of sense which belong to the temporal 



36 

man. They aid one another, when properly 
governed, in their proceSwS of growth. The 
Mind is that particular attribute of the spirit- 
ual man which directs the actions of the tem- 
poral man. The temporal man always obeys 
the mind's directions, whether the action of 
the mind is normal, and under the influence 
of the moral and spiritual qualities or whether 
it is abnormal, and under the influence of the 
animal qualities. The temporal man is thus 
obliged to aid in developing the intellectual 
qualities. These, in their turn, store up know- 
ledge which is conveyed to the Mind, and 
thence transmitted through the voice, or oth- 
erwise, to direct the actions of the temporal 
man. 

The temporal man also aids in building up 
the moral qualities. The temporal man is an 
organism composed of various parts : so also 
is the spiritual man. They constitute two 



37 

distinct organizations, yet it requires !:he ac- 
tivities of both to perfect either. The tempo- 
ral man must receive aid from the spiritual 
man in order to educate himself for the duties 
of life and Secure his maintenance. The spir- 
itual man must receive aid from the temporal 
man in order to develop the intellectual, mo- 
ral and spiritual qualities. 

THE EVIDENCE OF A SPIRITUAL BODY. 

What evidence have we, it may be asked, 
that we have an inner or spiritual body which 
forms or develops during the life within the 
temporal body ? God's creation as it is man- 
ifested in all forms of organic life, is every- 
where seen to be a perfect, economical and 
harmonious system. If we begin with the low- 
est plant or animal and follow the line, of de- 
velopment up to the spiritual man, we shall 
find the finger of God pointing out all along 



38 

the line the method by which everything is 
brought into being. The different forms of 
vegetation, the various animals, and the tem- 
poral body of man, are all developed from 
seeds, each after its own kind. All the dif- 
ferent parts and organs come forth in the 
course of the development, and they are per- 
fectly adapted to the performance of their 
various functions. These parts are not devel- 
oped separately and serially, one after another, 
at different times, but all commence to grow 
and are gradually perfected together. They 
are all parts of one perfect organism, and 
have a common life. So also, the qualities of 
the inner or spiritual man, including the mind, 
could not develop unless they were connected 
with some body or organization in common, 
that acts in unison and harmony with the 
temporal body. Experience convinces me that 
the mind, and the intellectual, moral and spir- 



39 

itual qualities cannot be functions or attributes 
of the temporal body. If this is so, they 
must be connected with a spiritual body. It 
is my belief that this body is growing within 
us during the entire period of our life, and 
that while it is connected with the temporal 
body it attains the complete form, size and 
appearance which it will manifest when the 
temporal body separates from it at death. 

The common belief is that the spiritual 
part of man is the so-called soul, which is 
immaterial and is developed in the temporal 
body. When it is separated from the body 
at death it is believed that the soul passes 
on to a higher sphere where God has prepar- 
ed a spiritual body to receive it. To believe 
that it is necessary for God to separately create 
such a body in the spiritual world apart from 
the earthly man, is to liinit and underestimate 
the perfection and economy of the divine me- 



40 

thod in human development. It is not con- 
sistent with what we know of the operations 
of nature to suppose that it is necessary for 
God to furnish spiritual bodies in advance and 
keep them on hand to supply the souls as 
they pass on to the higher life. God says to 
us through all the operations of nature : Every- 
thing comes from a seed. Out of the seed is 
developed all forms of animal and vegetable 
life, including the body of man. The same 
is also to be assumed as true of the spiritual 
body, with all its noble faculties and powers. 

iMAN'S ANIMAL NATURE. 

I am persuaded that the sources of all the 
evils that man has to contend with are anger 
and the bodily passions and appetites — faculties 
which he possesses in common with the higher 
animals ; I therefore call them the animal in 
the temporal man. From its earliest years^ 



41 

the child has these animal propensities, appa- 
rently fully developed. The animal part of 
man is always active, and ready to exercise 
control over the mind, so as to induce the 
mind to direct the temporal man to act as it 
desires. The animal instincts are powerful, 
and it is onlv bv the firm exercise of moral 
power that they can be restrained. Take, for 

example, any young child before his moral 
qualities are developed. His intellectual qual- 
ities and his bodily actions will be more or 
less under the control of the animal until the 
moral power comes to his relief. There are 
times, it is true, when the animal propensi- 
ties are at rest. At such periods the tem- 
poral man is also at peace. But whenever 
circumstances arise which conflict with the an- 
imal tendencies they are at once aroused and 
endeavor to influence the mind to direct the 
temporal man to do their bidding. As long as 



42 

the animal has control over the temporal man 
he does as it directs, and his appetites crave 
a continuance of this indulgence ; but when 
the animal is restrained the temporal man is 
at rest. The animal instincts doubtless have 
a work to perform, in attempting to control 
the temporal man and thus opposing the mo- 
ral power. The moral power, like all other 
powers, grows by exercise, and it is only ex- 
ercised when something opposes it which it 
has to overcome. Experience and observation 
teach me that when man controls his anger, 
his passions and his appetites, he has con- 
quered all the evil influences which beset him. 
He will find no further temptations to do 
wrong. When he willingly obeys the com- 
mands of his moral nature, the conflict with 
the animal will cease, and he will be at rest 
and peace with the world. The only devil 
which besets man is the evil in his animal 
nature. 



43 



CONSCIOUSNESS. 

Self-consciousness is not born in the individ- 
ual, but is a faculty of gradual growth. Its 
germ, however, exists in the spiritual organ- 
ism. When the child is young, before the 
Mind and Intellectual Qualities are developed, 
the inner or spiritual man cannot be in any 
real sense conscious of anything. The tempo- 
ral man may experience various sensations in 
his bodily organs, but he is not aware of what 
produces the various sensations and pains 
which he experiences. In this stage of devel- 
opment, the temporal body is like the body 
of an animal, without true knowledge or self- 
consciousness. Parents who observe a young 
child carefully will perceive that the inner or 
spiritual part of its nature becomes conscious 
only as fast as the intellectual qualities devel- 
op. In the process of this development, spir- 



44 

itual knowledge is gradually manifested. The 
child learns to recognize his own nature as a 
self-conscious individual. The development of 
each class of the intellectual qualities will be 
accompanied by the growth of its related spir- 
itual knowledge. To the degree in which the 
inner or spiritual man is truly educated, it 
becomes aware that spiritual knowledge is es- 
sential to self-consciousness. This perception 
brings with it a disposition to develop such 
knowledge. When the child first begins to per- 
ceive what the image or action truly is which 
has impressed itself upon the intellectual qual- 
ities, this perception constitutes the beginning 
of consciousness in the child. Consciousness 
begins to develop at the same time that the 
child commences to receive impressions from 
the most familiar objects about him, for in- 
stance, his mother or his nurse, by or through 
the organs of sight or hearing. A person. 



45 

even the most familiar person, as his mother, 
is at first to him only a movable object. When 
the impressions are so far perfected that he 
can distinguish between his mother and some 
other person, he is then conscious that he 
knows the difference between such persons. 
This is the first perfected consciousness . in 
the child. 

In the course of time, a person, as we say, 
forgets many things. The impressions made 
by past experiences upon the intellectual qual- 
ities appear to have faded away or dispersed, 
or the Mind's Eye is not able readily to lo- 
cate the position of the qualities so it can 
see them at any required moment. It may 
be some time before the impression can be 
found or recalled which contains the matter 
which has thus disappeared. During the time 
when the impressions are thus lost, the con- 
sciousness thereof is also lost. Just as soon 



46 

as the Mind's Eye discovers the lost impres- 
sions, and the matter soug-ht f<)r is brought 
before the mind, at that moment the mind 
becomes conscious of it and recognizes the 
fact that it has been conscious of it before. 
This fully demonstrates that consciousness de- 
pends upon the knowledge, and comes and 
goes with it. 

MORAL DEVELOPMENT. 

When any person is enjoying physical and 
mental health, and has nothing to unduly dis- 
turb or excite him, his condition is said to 
be normal. In such a condition the temporal 
man has no temptation to do wrong. If the 
person is a child, he will play, and enjoy him- 
self with innocent amusements. If a man, he 
will take pleasure in his daily vocation. He 
will have peace and contentment until his an- 
imal nature is in some way aroused. Just as 



47 

soon as the temporal man performs any act 
. that conflicts with the animal propensities, the 
influence of the animal nature will be felt 
throughout the entire system of the temporal 
man, and the mind will be induced to direct 
the temporal man to obey the demands of his 
anim^al propensities. When the animal nature 
has exhausted itself, it will cease to exert a 
» controlling influence over the mind and the 
temporal man, and they will return to their 
normal condition. This state of things contin- 
ues until after the moral qualities begin to 
develop in the child. 

When the moral power has to some extent 
been developed, it constitutes an opposing force 
to the action of the animal propensities. The 
moral power always strives to influence the 
mind to direct the temporal man in opposition 
to the commands of his animal nature. If an- 
ger, the bodily passions and appetites could 



48 

be eradicated, the mind would be relieved 
from all evil influences, and would no longer 
direct the temporal man to do wrong. 

When a parent informs his child that a cer- 
tain action towards its neighbor is wrong, the 
warning will cause the child to consider the 
act carefully, to estimate its effects and sub- 
sequent influence, and this course of reflection 
will establish the parent's instructions, or a 
knowledge of the wrongfulness of the action, 
in the intellectual qualities. The moral char- 
acter of the action is thus developed and re- 
corded for the future guidance of the child. 
Afterwards, the child, if well-disposed, will be 
governed by these instructions, unless it dis- 
covers through its own experience and obser- 
vation that the parent's judgment was at fault* 
In such a case, the child will make his own 
decision, contrary to that of the parent. It 
is the duty of the parent to instruct the child 



49 

from its earliest years until it is able to dis- 
cover for itself what is right and what is wrong. 
Every such instruction will constitute a record 
for the government of the child's conduct, 
provided he takes an interest in his parent's 
counsel, and gives it due heed. If the child 
obeys and practices these instructions, his moral 
power will increase and bring with it the dis^ 
position to act according to the decisions of 
the parent. When the child has become capa- 
ble of deciding for itself what is right and 
what is wrong it will no longer depend on its 
parent's instructions. In order to arrive at this 
condition of self-knowledge and self-determina- 
tion, however, it must have a basis to start 
from. This basis is the moral knowledge 
w^hich it has gained from the parent's instruc- 
tions. The experience of the child up to the 
time w^hen it is able to make its own decisions, 
will give it the conception of right and wrong 



so 

and some idea of what is right and what is 
wrong. 

As soon as a situation arises which requires 
a decision in regard to the rightness or wrong- 
ness of an action, the child will reflect about 
the matter. The Mind's Eye will run over 
the previous decisions in similar cases which 
have been made within the child's experience. 
The mind will note the bearing of these de- 
cisions on the case in hand, and decide the 
matter accordingly. After such a decision is 
once made, independently of the parent's in- 
structions, it constitutes one more on the re- 
cord for its future use and guidance. When 
the decision is once made, either for right or 
for wrong, the child abides by it and is govern- 
ed by it until it learns better, or its judgment 
is corrected by subsequent experience. The 
moral power can only dictate a course of action 
in accordance with the degree of development 



51 

in the moral qualities. When a child does an 
act in opposition to the one already recorded, 
the moral sense indicated by that record will 
at once say that the act is wrong. It will so 
dictate because the parents of the child have 
taught it that such an act would be wrong. 
It is the decision of the moral judgment, so 
educated, that tells the child what is wrong. 
It is not conscience that so dictates. Con- 
science merely enforces the decision of the 
moral judgment of the intellect after it has 
been made. 

THE NATURE OF CONSCIENCE. 

Conscience stands in the same relation to 
the moral qualities as that which consciousness 
holds towards the intellectual qualities. Take, 
for example, the case of a child who has been 
brought up by moral parents and has received 
a good moral education. At about the time 



52 

when it arrives at mature age its animal pas- 
vSions increase in intensity and it begins to neg- 
lect the cultivation of its moral nature. It 
ceases to be interested in right courses of ac- 
tion, and is influenced by its animal propen- 
sities to do their bidding. Gradually its desires 
become centred in conduct which is contrar}^ 
to its early moral training. Its appetites in- 
crease, and the stronger they become the more 
the mind is influenced to obey the behests of 
the animal nature. This finally reaches such 
a stage that the Mind's Eye is no longer able, 
except occasionally, at rare intervals, to seek 
out and contemplate the moral qualities. These 
qualities gradually disappear and the impres- 
sions made thereon can no longer be brought 
before the mental vision. At the same time 
conscience disappears also. Later on, if the 
person again changes his course of action, and 
regains his interest in moral courses of con- 



53 

duct, if he again becomes desirous of building 
up the moral qualities of his nature, many 
of the lost impressions will be discovered 
again, and the conscience which impelled him 
to action in accordance w^ith those impressions 
made on the moral qualities will also reappear. 

THE PRr)CESS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEWED. 

Let us now briefly review and reinforce the 
principles which have been already laid down. 

The temporal man, as we have seen, has a 
work to do in developing the moral qualities. 
It furnishes that opposing force which compels 
an active exercise of the moral power, and 
thus enables it to develop and increase in 
vStrength. The Mind, with the aid of the 
moral qualities, makes the decision for right 
or w^rong. When a child does a wrong act, 
and the parent knows it, the parent will say : 
''You must not do so: that is wrong." In so 



54 

doing, the parent bestows his standard of mo- 
rality upon the child. The child absorbs it. 
The moral sense infuses the intellectual qual- 
ities, and establishes in them the parent's in- 
structions. In every instance, the parent or 
person under whose guidance the child is 
placed, must take the part of the moral sense 
and instruct the inner man before the child 
can make an independent decision as to right 
and wrong. In making such a decision the 
mind and moral qualities are in communica- 
tion, and the decision is the result of their 
combined activity. As soon as some situation 
arises which presents the possibility of two 
different courses of action, the mind will re- 
flect thereon. It will compare, and weigh the 
arguments, pro and con, and make the decis- 
ion. The decisions so made constitute our 
standard of morality. Imperfect as they are, 
they are our only standard until experience 



55 
leads us to something better or higher. After 
decisions are made as above described, and 
the knowledge thereof is established in the 
intellectual qualities, they become, as I say, 
the moral qualities developed. They consti- 
tute a guide by following which the child or 
person may develop moral power. If so guided 
in practice from day to day, the moral power 
will gradually increase in strength, and the 
disposition to do right wnll control the actions 
of the temporal man. The greater the strength 
of the moral power, the greater will be its in- 
fluence over the mind to direct the temporal 
man in opposition to wrong doing. 

CONSCIENCE NOT INFALLIBLE. 

The Moral Power, or conscience, always im- 
pels man to do right — never to do w^rong ; but 
its dictates are not infallible. They act only 
in accordance with the standards of right and 



56 

wrong which have been established in the 
mind by education. The general belief ap- 
pears to be that conscience dictates to us in- 
fallibly what is right and what is wrong. All 
people who have been brought up by moral 
parents have within them a sense of right 
and wrong which is called conscience. When 
they are tempted to do an act which does 
not agree with their education, or when they 
see another do such an act, they will say 
''that is not right." It is their conscience, 
apparently, that so dictates. This dictation, 
however, as regards the particular quality of 
the action, is not the act of the conscience 
alone ; it is governed by the want of agree- 
ment between the act in question and their 
standard of right which is the result of their 
previous moral education. Conscience, there- 
fore, simply expresses the decision of the mo- 
ral qualities. The development of the moral 



57 

qualities results in the acquisition of spiritual 
knowledge. This spiritual knowledge is the 
result of an educated conscience. Just so far 
as the inner man has developed its moral 
qualities, thus far is the conscience educated. 
As soon as a child is capable of understand- 
ing the instructions of its parents, or the de- 
cisions which they make for it as to right and 
wrong, the moral qualities will begin to de- 
velop ; and conscience will develop along with 
the increasing strength of the moral qualities. 

THE TEMPORAL MAN'S POWER AND WILL. 

That power in the temporal man which 
enables him to move and act as he walls is 
distributed through all parts of his organism, 
and responds at all times as the mind directs. 
This power in the physical organism may be 
compared to that of steam stored in a boiler, 
under pressure, and lying dormant until re- 



58 

quired for use. I am persuaded that the power 
that registers and enforces the commands of 
the will does not proceed from the inner man. 
The will's function in human action is in con- 
nection with the mind and the muscttlar or- 
ganism of the temporal man. The will's ac- 
tivity is always exercised over the power of 
the temporal man, impelling him to do or not 
to do as it directs. For example, when the 
mind instructs the temporal man to go to a 
certain place at a certain time, he will obey. 
The word "will" simply expresses his willing- 
ness or inclination to obey the mind. The 
will is not something independent of the mind 
which guides the actions of the temporal man. 
When the time comes for him to go, the 
mind directs the temporal power to move and 
it moves. 

Again, let us consider the case of a man 
who has ''lost his mind," as we say, — whose 



59 

brain, from some cause, is diseased, so that 
the mind or inner man cannot control its 
action or that of the physical organism.. Oth- 
erwise, the man may be m good bodily health. 
Everything may be normal except the brain, 
which is the mind's organ. He has power to 
move from place to place. His condition ma}' 
be compared to that of a steam-boat in mid 
stream w^hen the pilot has taken his hand from 
the wheel. The boat drifts from place to place. 
No man can calculate its movements or tell 
w^here it will land. Just as soon as the pilot 
resumes his place at the wheel, the order is 
restored, and the boat moves as he directs. 
So the temporal man when the brain is dis- 
eased has power to move from place to place, 
without definite purpose, not knowing where 
he is going or w^here he will stop. He has 
nothing to guide or direct him. 



6o 

x\s vSoon as his brain returns to a normal 
state the mind or inner man will again begin 
to communicate with it, and to direct what 
the temporal man shall do. During the time 
w^hile the temporal man was in this abnormal 
condition he had no perceptible will power to 
direct him. This would indicate that the will 
belongs exclusively to the mind, and is not 
connected with the intellectual qualities or any 
other part of the inner man except through 
the mind. If it wxre otherwise, the will 
would not have lost its power so completely 
during the time when the brain was affected. 
It would undoubtedly have developed some 
activity under those circumstances. This con- 
vinces me that there is no power attached to 
the will as a separate entity or faculty inde- 
pendent of the mind. If the will has any 
power, it is, simply, to express and enforce 
the mind's decisions. The condition of the 



6i 

temporal man as above described also convinces 
me that the mind or inner man is the power 
which directs the temporal man to move and 
act. 

THE DUTY OF MAN. 

When God created man and placed him here, 
on earth/ it was evidently for some wise pur- 
pose. He gave him life, and also the germ 
or seed of his spiritual nature, out of which 
develops the spiritual body. God gave him 
power, and by calling to his aid all the fac- 
ulties of the inner or spiritual nature he can 
develop his intellectual, moral and spiritual 
qualities. God has also made man a free agent, 
capable of forming judgments for himself, and 
acting in accordance therewith. Man has been 
provided with everything necessary wherewith 
to maintain himself, and perform his duty 
during life. In return for these beneficent 



62 '.: 

gifts, God wants man to do something for 
himself — to earn his daily bread, and to bnild 
up his intellectual, moral and spiritual quali- 
ties. The first is not a matter of choice, but 
of compulsion. The development of the higher 
nature is, however, largely a matter of free 
choice. 

THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH. 

The soil of the earth consists of various 
ingredients which have been prepared in na- 
ture's laboratory to be absorbed by vegetation, 
and thus produce the various kinds of plants, 
trees, grains, grasses, etc., which we see around 
us. Out of the same soil grow plants of vari- 
ous kinds and textures, some with soft stems, 
some with hard, and of a wonderful variety 
of shapes, sizes and specific natures. Each 
kind absorbs from the soil that particular 
kind of material which it needs for its own 



63 

nourishment and growth. In a similar way, 
as I conceive it, the spirit of God is related 
to the spiritual nature of man. 

SPIRITUAL ABSORPTION. 

Vegetation absorbs the sustenance for build- 
ing up the plant or tree from the soil. After 
the nutritious elements are absorbed through 
the roots, they are ready to be assimilated by 
the various parts of the vegetable organism. 
It requires no direct supernatural aid to dis- 
tribute to each part the sustenance which it 
needs. When food is digested by men or an- 
imals, it is then distributed and absorbed by 
the various bodil)^ organs and tissues, accord- 
ing to their several needs, b}^ a wholly natural 
process. God does not interfere with the ope- 
rations of nature, and personally dictate that 
so much nourishment shall go to the muscular 
tissues, so much to the bones, and so much 



64 

to the brain and nerves. The orgaaism is al- 
ready so constructed that it will make its own 
selection, and appropriate to each part accord- 
ing to its needs, without any such special 
dictation or interference. So, by his method 
in creation, God reveals, to us how the pro- 
cesses of growth are carried forward. As it 
is in the vegetable and animal worlds, so it 
must be in the spiritual nature of man. It 
cannot be possible that God should change his 
whole method of procedure in supplying his 
spirit to the inner man. He does not do this 
by piece-meal — or by special acts of supernat- 
ural interference. Like all other processes of 
growth, spiritual development takes place nat- 
urally, in accordance with the laws of absorp- 
tion and supply. The notion of special dictation 
or interference belittles our idea of the divine 
nature. In my judgment, God lives far above 
this. His creation is too perfect to need such 



65 » 

mtervention. He so demonstrates to us by the 
operation of his laws in the physical, vegeta- 
ble and animal worlds. My conclusion is, 
therefore, that man is placed in this world to 
work out his own salvation, and that accord- 
ing to his acts will be his rew^ard. Infinite 
opportunities are spread before him, and in 
them is promise of eternal progression. 

CONCLUSION. 

Finally, I would say, as a result of my expe- 
rience and observation, that the supreme duty 
imposed upon us by God is to develop the 
intellectual part of man, and thus prepare for 
building up the moral and spiritual qualities 
of his nature. These qualities are the only 
ones, so far as I can see, that uiitst be devel- 
oped in order to elevate humanity. After we 
are prepared to build up these qualities, our 
additional duty is wholly a practical one. We 



66 

must constantly exercise our moral nature in 
doing- right, and our spiritual nature in doing 
good. So doing, man will have obeyed the 
whole law of God, and he may confidently 
and calmly await the issues of life and death. 



